( wynne is not only behind in the polls , he party is now losing the fundraising race , although new rules will make it harder for the parties to raise money in 2017 and will have to rely on a subsidy that is based on 2014 voting results which favoured the liberals )

Ontario PCs raised nearly $10 million in 2016, far outpacing Liberals

With changes looming to Ontario's political donation rules in 2017, parties cashed in this year

The Ontario Progressive Conservative party, led by Patrick Brown (left), raised $9.7 million in donations in 2016, some $4 million more than the Ontario Liberals.

The Progressive Conservative party is not only well ahead of Kathleen Wynne's Liberals in the polls, it also comfortably won the fundraising race this year, just as new restrictive rules on political donations come into force in Ontario.

Patrick Brown's PCs collected $9.7 million in donations so far in 2016, according to the latest figures compiled by CBC News, using data reported by Elections Ontario.

The same figures put the Ontario Liberal Party at $5.75 million raised in 2016, with the Ontario NDP a distant third at nearly $2.7 million in contributions.

The numbers may rise, as the parties are not required to disclose contributions to Elections Ontario until two weeks after the donation is made. The totals only include donations made to the central parties, not to their constituency associations.

It's a significant fundraising turnaround for the Ontario PCs, amounting to more than double what the party raised in 2015.

In 2015, the PCs raised $4.4 million, while the Liberals collected $9.2 million and the NDP $2.8 million.

Significant changes to the political donation rules come into force on Jan. 1 in Ontario. Corporations and unions will be banned from contributing to political parties. The maximum an individual can donate to a party in a non-election year will be reduced to $1,200 from the current limit of $9,975.

To compensate for the loss of corporate and union donations, the parties will receive an annual taxpayer-funded subsidy based on the number of votes they received in the 2014 election.

For 2017, that subsidy will amount to $2.71 per vote. Based on the 2014 election results, that works out to:
■$5.1 million for the Liberals
■$4.1 million for the PCs
■$3.1 million for the NDP

The subsidy will drop slightly each year. For instance, in 2018 it will be $2.54 per vote.

The new year will also bring an end to Ontario's cash-for-access fundraisers, which drew outrage for ticket prices of up to $10,000 that give donors face-time with top politicians. Under the new law, MPPs, candidates and senior political staff are banned from attending fundraising events.

Queen's Park winter
As of January 1, corporations and unions will be banned from contributing to all Ontario political parties. The parties will begin receiving an annual taxpayer-funded subsidy, proportional to the number of votes they received in the 2014 election. (CBC)

The push for donations in 2016 was aided by the four byelections held during the year. Under the existing rules, a single donor (whether a corporation, union or person) could have donated as much as $39,900 to each party in 2016.

The limits allowed a donor to contribute the maximum $9,975 for the 2016 annual period, as well as $9,975 during each of the three byelection campaign periods: Whitby-Oshawa in February, Scarborough-Rouge River in September, plus the two byelections held on the same day in November in Niagara West-Glanbrook and Ottawa-Vanier.

Ontario political parties relied heavily on corporate, union donations last year

Allison Jones, THE CANADIAN PRESS

Tuesday, January 3, 2017 6:18:19 EST PM

TORONTO — The new year marks a new fundraising reality for Ontario’s political parties, which now have to get by without funding from their top donors — corporations and unions — as they try to fill their coffers ahead of next year’s election.

The 2016 figures from Elections Ontario show corporations made up roughly 90% of the Progressive Conservatives’ top donors and about three quarters of the governing Liberals’ top donors. The New Democrats’ top donations came from unions.

The figures show the Progressive Conservatives out-hustled the other parties, raising nearly $10 million, while the Liberals raised $6 million and the NDP raised almost $3 million. The numbers don’t include donations made to constituency associations.

The Tories raised a whopping $3.9 million in the Scarborough-Rouge River byelection alone, and of the 136 donors to give the maximum amount, just 15 were individuals.

The old rules allowed individuals, corporations and unions to donate $9,975 to a party each year, but they were also allowed to donate the same amount during a byelection period — and there were three last year. There were four byelections, but two were held on the same day.

The Liberals likely would have raised considerably more in 2016 had they accepted party donations in the Sept. 1 and Nov. 17 byelections. In the Whitby-Oshawa byelection early in the year, the Liberals raised $2.6 million. But after they came under fire over the summer for the loophole that allowed extra donations during byelections, the Liberals said they wouldn’t make further use of it.

Under the new rules, which went into effect Jan. 1, the parties get per-vote subsidies to help them stay afloat in at least the first few years without corporate and union donations. The Liberals will get $5.1 million in 2017, while the Tories will get $4.1 million and the NDP will get $3.1 million. The amounts will drop in each subsequent year.

Funds raised during 2016 should help wipe out the outstanding 2014 election debts of the Liberals and the PCs, which stood at $2.9 million and $6.1 million, respectively, at the end of 2015, the most recent information available. But the NDP is heading into this year still in the red. They ended 2015 with $4.9 million in debt.

The new rules cap individual contributions to a registered party at $1,200, or $3,600 in an election year. They also ban politicians from attending fundraising events, presenting parties with an additional challenge of raising money without the benefit of drawing in donors using face time with an elected official.

The Liberal government introduced legislation amid a cash-for-access scandal in which it was harshly criticized over fundraising events that saw cabinet ministers attend private, high-priced functions with stakeholders. But the opposition parties relied on the personal touch too, with both leaders headlining pricey dinners.

Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown tweeted a constant stream of photos throughout the year of him attending fundraisers, from large to ones that appeared to only have a handful of attendees. Those connections could put the party in a good position to hit up those individual donors again in 2017.

PC campaign organizer Walied Soliman tweeted that the party raised more in 2016 than in any other non-election year, which he attributed to Brown’s hard work.

The NDP has traditionally relied on getting a lot of individual donors to pony up a little bit of money — thousands of people donated less than $200 in 2016 — and the party says the new rules don’t change that.

“We will work to increase our membership, expand on our successful digital program, and work with our current donors to secure commitments to monthly contributions,” NDP provincial secretary Karla Webber-Gallagher said in a statement.

“We have always been a party focused on its grassroots membership and the new fundraising rules do not alter that focus, it will be the key to our success leading up to 2018.”

In addition to the general election, the parties will also have to finance at least one byelection this year — the premier has six months to call a vote to replace David Orazietti, a cabinet minister who resigned his Sault Ste. Marie seat late last year.

It could be a bench mark, turning point — or passing the first test — to becoming Ontario’s next premier.

Before he’s given the challenge to try to eliminate Ontario’s massive debt, Patrick Brown was faced with crazy debt in his own party.

Sure the Progressive Conservative leader wants to be premier to tackle the province’s financial woes.

But first things first. He had to address his own party’s money issues.

How bad was it? How’s $7 million sound?

Suddenly the excitement of being a party leader went from jubilation to harsh reality. Talk about up hill.

“But I made it a priority to eliminate that debt,” Brown said in an interview from India where he’s searching for investment opportunities to create jobs and meeting with friends, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mostly, Brown is readying himself for a wild 18-month ride to the next election in 2018. In politics — no matter which party — you rarely hear positive news.

But Brown had some this week.

“In just 16 months, we accomplished what has never been accomplished in this party before in this amount of time,” he said. “I’m proud we could eliminate our party debt.”

No longer in the red, his party is getting ready to build a warchest for the battle to defeat Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberals. They may be leading in the polls and Wynne’s popularity is not where it once thanks to out of control hydro rates and carbon taxes.

But the only poll that matters is on June 7, 2018.

And Brown knows this.

His introduction into Ontario politics after a decade as an MP with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Ottawa has had successes, failures, speed bumps and growing pains.

However, if we are fair, he has built up the party’s membership, reached out and converted ethnic communities and has been trying to build a potentially strong front bench should he form the government.

Along the way, middle-of-the-road approaches of some issues, including support for Wynne on family law legislation, sex education or even delving into the cutting carbon game, has upset some in the base who don’t want him to be Liberal light.

No one has been harder on him on these things than me.

But I am going to count this achievement as a win for Brown, who couldn’t contain his enthusiasm, sending out an internal e-mail to share the good news.

“I am so proud of all our fundraisers and supporters who have made this the most successful year for the party ... We did what everyone said is impossible. In just 16 months, we paid off and eliminated the party’s debt ... We did this outside of an election year ... Simply outstanding.”

He’s right. It is.

The thing is, we sometimes stereotype these politicians as kind of abstract TV figures. They are not. They are human.

I try to level criticism where warranted and credit where credit is due. Brown went out and has hit fundraiser after fundraiser — and $20,000 a time — has put together a significant amount of money to give his party a chance. It meant lots of evenings out in restaurants and homes and community centres all across the province.

“We worked incredibly hard to eliminate our debt, but what I really appreciated was being able to connect with people all across Ontario and to harness their desire and excitement for the new vibrant approach we will bring to the province,” said Brown. “Our next plan is to bring the same financial discipline to government.”

Getting the party’s house in order sets him up nicely to try to do it for the province.

It cannot be understated the poor shape the PC parties finances were in after the last election.

I would even go as far as to argue its why many stayed away from the leadership race.

Patrick Brown has worked tirelessly to raise money to mop the decks of the outstanding debt of the last administration and done so with basically a year and a half to the next election.

the reality is it can cost just as much to lose an election as it does to win , the pc's still went all out in 2014 even though it was obvious hudak was going to lose , they still spent a lot of money on tv ads and such bashing the liberals which weren't effective during a very anti conservative election

its definitely impressive that brown has managed to eliminate that debt but its too bad all this new money has to go towards paying off past mistakes instead of being used to defeat wynne in 2018

its also going to be much harder to fundraise under the new rules that were just brought in

The Progressive Conservatives raised $12.6 million last year -- more than twice as much as the governing Liberals -- -- by exploiting a double-dip loophole since closed in changes sparked by a Star probe.

Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown applauds during a victory party in the Scarborough-Rouge River riding in September. The Tories raised $3.9 million from 2,998 donors for the vote. (Chris Young / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

By Robert BenzieQueen's Park Bureau Chief

Wed., Jan. 18, 2017

The Progressive Conservatives raised $12.6 million last year – twice as much as the governing Liberals – by exploiting a double-dip loophole that was closed after a Star probe.

All parties note their 2016 results will rise once final tallies are filed by May 31. The Liberals say theirs will be closer to $6.4 million after all the cheques are processed.

The Tory advantage stemmed from maximizing fundraising during byelection periods, a practice the Liberals mastered over the years until promising to stop because reforms were coming.

Under the old law, amended as of Jan. 1, parties could ask donors to double up and contribute an extra $9,975 in a byelection contest.

Using that tactic during byelections in Niagara West-Glanbrook, Ottawa-Vanier, Scarborough-Rouge River and Whitby-Oshawa enabled the Tories to raise an additional $9.5 million.

The Liberals abandoned the controversial manoeuvre after the Whitby-Oshawa byelection last February, when they collected $2.5 million.

Wynne revamped Ontario’s lax campaign finance laws after the Star revealed last March that Liberal cabinet ministers had secret annual party fundraising targets of up to $500,000 apiece.

Last week, the premier insisted she has no regrets about stopping the byelection cash grab.

“We thought it was the principled thing to do,” she told reporters on Jan. 10.

“We were changing the rules – and the rules have now changed – and we thought that knowing that that was happening … it made good sense that we would take a principled stand and we would start to change our practices.”

That said, Wynne acknowledged the Liberals had the luxury of being in better fiscal shape than the Tories, who were saddled with a large campaign shortfall from the 2014 election.

“We weren’t dealing with the same debt. I mean, we had a different financial situation. We’re going to continue to work to have a strong financial position as a party as we go into the election,” she said.

The Tories, who have not won a provincial election since 1999, made no excuses about playing by the old rules right down to the wire, especially since it enabled them to clear a $7-million debt.

“I have worked incredibly hard to eliminate the party’s debt, but this is also very much the dedication of a huge number of enthusiastic supporters from every corner of Ontario,” Brown said in an email Wednesday.

In a message to supporters last week, Tony Miele, the PC Ontario Fund chair, noted that “in just 16 months, we paid off and eliminated the party’s debt.”

“What’s more, we did this outside of an election year and we fundraised and helped finance four byelections. Simply outstanding. These types of numbers have never been achieved. Ever,” Miele wrote.

“This is the sign of a party that is on the right track … you’re going to see that trend continue. Patrick Brown will be the next premier of Ontario.”

The Elections Ontario filings show, outside of the byelection periods, the Liberals took in $3.5 million from 18,498 donors; the Conservatives raised $3.1 million from 2,502 donors; and the NDP $3.2 million from 30,090 donors.

During the Nov. 17 byelections in Niagara West-Glanbrook and Ottawa-Vanier, the Tories collected $3.6 million from 1,983 contributors while the NDP brought in $54,675 from 118 donors.

Similarly, in the Sept. 1 Scarborough-Rouge River contest, the Tories raised $3.9 million from 2,998 donors and the NDP $60,106.55 from 162 donors.

Refraining from the now-banned double-dip loophole in those byelections was costly to the Liberals.

In the Feb. 11 Whitby-Oshawa race, they raised almost $2.5 million from 870 donors compared with the Tories’ $2 million from 3,214 donors and the NDP’s $264,410 from 98 donors.

Under the new legislation, now in effect, corporate and union donations are banned, MPPs and candidates cannot attend fundraisers and the individual contribution limit has dropped to $1,200.

To offset the loss of revenue, parties have started receiving $2.71-per-vote public subsidies based on the results of the 2014 election.

The Liberals, with 1,863,974 votes, will get $5.06 million this year; the Tories, with 1,508,811 votes, $4.09 million; the NDP, with 1,144,822 votes, $3.1 million; and the Greens, with 232,536 votes, $630,000.

Officials say the first quarterly installments of those public subsidies have already been paid to the parties.

( wynne claims she isn't worried about this ? but somehow I doubt that is really true , maybe its the real reason she suddenly changed the rules , the libs knew there fundraising advantage was going to end anyways)

Wynne not worried Tories trounced Liberals in fundraising

Premier Kathleen Wynne insists she is not bothered that Patrick Brown’s Tories raised twice as much as the Liberals in 2016.

Premier Kathleen Wynne insists she has no regrets that the governing Liberals no longer enjoy a fundraising advantage over Patrick Brown’s Progressive Conservatives.

Wynne, who also trails Brown in public-opinion polls, said she is not worried the Tories raised twice as much as the Liberals in 2016, the last year before legislative reforms triggered by a Star probe.

By exploiting a double-dip loophole closed as of Jan. 1, the Conservatives raised $12.6 million compared to around $6 million for the Liberals.

“We knew that we were moving forward with changes to the fundraising rules in Ontario and we made a principled decision not to take advantage of the old rules during a byelection,” she said Thursday.

The premier said she took comfort in the fact the number of individual donors the Liberals had “far outstrips anything that the Tories have.”

All three major parties say their 2016 take will increase when the numbers are finalized May 31. The Liberals say their total will be closer to $6.4 million and the Tories insist it will be “a lot more than double when final numbers are tallied.”

Brown’s advantage stemmed from maximizing fundraising in byelection periods — once a favourite Liberal manoeuvre until they promised to stop after announcing restrictions were coming.

Until Dec. 31, parties could ask well-heeled contributors — as well as corporations and unions — to double up and donate an extra $9,975 during byelections.

Employing that during the Niagara West-Glanbrook, Ottawa-Vanier, Scarborough-Rouge River and Whitby-Oshawa byelections allowed the Tories to bring in an additional $9.5 million.

The Grits only used the tactic during last February’s Whitby-Oshawa byelection, raking in $2.5 million from 870 donors.

Wynne announced sweeping campaign finance reforms — including a ban on corporate and union donations and contribution limits — after the Star revealed last March that Liberal cabinet ministers had secret annual party fundraising targets of up to $500,000 each.

Brown, who often attended three fundraisers a day last year, said he played by the rules in order to clear his party’s $7 million debt from the 2014 election.

“I have worked incredibly hard to eliminate the party’s debt, but this is also very much the dedication of a huge number of enthusiastic supporters from every corner of Ontario,” he said in an email Wednesday.

Last week, Tony Miele, the PC Ontario Fund chair, noted it took just 16 months to balance the party books.

“What’s more, we did this outside of an election year and we fundraised and helped finance four byelections. Simply outstanding. These types of numbers have never been achieved. Ever,” Miele told supporters in an email.

According to Elections Ontario, outside of the byelection periods, the Liberals raised $3.5 million from 18,498 donors; the Conservatives took in $3.1 million from 2,502 donors; and the NDP $3.2 million from 30,090 donors.

The Nov. 17 byelections in Niagara West-Glanbrook and Ottawa-Vanier enabled the Tories to raise $3.6 million from 1,983 contributors while the NDP collected $54,675 from 118 donors.

During the Sept. 1 Scarborough-Rouge River race, the Tories brought in $3.9 million from 2,998 donors and the NDP $60,106.55 from 162 donors.

But in the Feb. 11 Whitby-Oshawa race, the PC fundraising lagged some $500,000 behind the Liberals. The Tories collected $2 million from 3,214 donors while the NDP received $264,410 from 98 donors.

As of Jan. 1, the individual contribution limit has dropped to $1,200 and MPPs and candidates cannot attend fundraisers.

Parties are now receiving $2.71-per-vote in public subsidies based on the results of the 2014 election.

The Liberals, with 1,863,974 votes, are receiving $5.05 million this year; the Tories, with 1,508,811 votes, $4.09 million; the NDP, with 1,144,822 votes, $3.1 million; and the Greens, with 232,536 votes, $630,000.

Ontario PCs amass record $16-million war chest ahead of next year’s election

Justin Giovannetti

The Globe and Mail

Published Wednesday, May 31, 2017 6:28PM EDT

Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives raised more than $16.1-million through political donations in 2016, a record haul that far outstripped the governing Liberals as the parties prepare for next year’s election.

Kathleen Wynne and the long-governing Liberal Party’s once-powerful fundraising machine raised $6.5-million last year, the second-lowest since Ms. Wynne became Premier in 2013. The total included proceeds of $1,000-a-plate fundraisers, which have now been outlawed.

In contrast, Patrick Brown spent his first full year as leader attending hundreds of events both big and small to eliminate the Official Opposition’s $6.1-million debt and exceed the PCs’ overall $11-million fundraising goal, according to discussions with party officials and financial documents provided to The Globe and Mail. The war chest will be needed to finance everything from expensive television advertising to pins with Mr. Brown’s name on them as he takes to the road in the summer 2018 in a campaign to unseat Ms. Wynne’s government. However, the money they now have in the bank also allows the Tories to reach voters before they must comply with Ontario’s campaign spending limits, which restrict parties to $1-million in advertising during the six months before an election.

The money will allow the party to mount “a proper campaign,” according to Walied Soliman, a member of Mr. Brown’s inner circle.

Robert MacDermid, a political science professor at York University who looks closely at party fundraising, said the gap between the parties’ totals is “unusually large.” It is the first time the Opposition has raised more than the Liberals since 2011, according to data from Elections Ontario.

“Typically, the governing party out-fundraises the opposition in any given year, even when they are unpopular,” Prof. MacDermid said.

Part of the haul could be attributed to the fact that campaign finance reforms were coming that would clamp down on cash-for-access fundraising, end corporate and union donations and impose tighter caps on contributions. The new rules took effect on Jan. 1, 2017.

In the year before a change of campaign-finance legislation at the federal level in the mid-2000s, some of the major parties doubled their fundraising in an effort to get money from corporate and union donors under the old rules, Prof. MacDermid noted.

“It’s not unusual to have an orgy of money come in before new rules, but this is unusually high,” he said.

The Liberals also cited the coming new rules as an explanation for the party’s drop in fundraising last year. While the Liberals raised about $10.8-million in 2015, according to data from Elections Ontario, that fell to almost $6.5-million last year, the party told The Globe.

“Premier Kathleen Wynne and our party believed the way politics were done in Ontario needed to change,” party spokeswoman Patricia Favre said, noting that is why Ms. Wynne told Liberal MPPs to stop holding small-scale, private fundraisers, and to post all events online. “Now with the new fundraising rules in place, we look forward to continuing to engage with Ontarians and party members interested in playing a role in Ontario’s democratic process.”

With an end to cash-for-access fundraisers, politicians have to work harder to raise money, attending more events where they pass the hat among supporters. A donor who could give nearly $30,000 to parties, candidates and constituencies before 2017 is now limited to $1,200 to a political party, $1,200 to constituencies and $1,200 to candidates – an effective limit of $3,600 per year.

The Ontario NDP raised just over $4.1-million, according to Karla Webber-Gallagher, the party’s provincial secretary. “We feel really good about it. We definitely exceeded the target we set for ourselves,” she said.

While polls continue to show that Ontarians are unfamiliar with Mr. Brown, who is from Barrie, as both a leader and politician, party officials say he was almost solely responsible for the fundraising total. Mr. Soliman, a prominent Bay Street lawyer and Mr. Brown’s campaign chair for 2018, said the leader made the plan, which set a gruelling fundraising schedule for himself.

“I wish I could tell you that there was this incredible team of people lead by some incredible individual,” Mr. Soliman said. “The truth is that it was Patrick Brown sitting down and saying, ‘Where can I raise the funds necessary to ensure that our message is delivered to the people of Ontario.’ He did that. He literally worked morning, afternoon and night, meeting people and making sure that they understood his message.”

The PCs surpassed the revenue target because of grassroots fundraisers and corporate donors, said Tony Miele, chairman of the PC Ontario Fund, which manages the party’s money.

“It’s our party’s best year ever,” he said.“... In my entire career, I’ve never seen anything like this.”

The Tories say the money they raised in 2016 was not just from big corporate cheques and the Bay Street crowd, but came from 18,022 contributors. Along with small online donations, Mr. Brown attended hundreds of fundraising events, from small-town barbeques to meetings with supporters in a hall.

The party has more than 100,000 members, Mr. Soliman said. While the party has taken a strong line against Ms. Wynne, leaders say that the message to donors is about Mr. Brown’s preparedness for the premier’s office as much as it is about Liberal failings.

Ontario’s Progressive Conservatives raised more than $16.1-million through political donations in 2016, a record haul that far outstripped the governing Liberals as the parties prepare for next year’s election.

Kathleen Wynne and the long-governing Liberal Party’s once-powerful fundraising machine raised $6.5-million last year, the second-lowest since Ms. Wynne became Premier in 2013. The total included proceeds of $1,000-a-plate fundraisers, which have now been outlawed.

In contrast, Patrick Brown spent his first full year as leader attending hundreds of events both big and small to eliminate the Official Opposition’s $6.1-million debt and exceed the PCs’ overall $11-million fundraising goal, according to discussions with party officials and financial documents provided to The Globe and Mail.

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